Tagged: President Bush

Matt Perman’s new book What’s BestNext: How the Gospel Transforms the Way You Get Things Done (Zondervan, 2014), which grew out of his excellent blog, is a must read not only for Christians (he skillfully takes a God-centered, gospel-driven approach to the subject of productivity) but for all who want to make the best use of their time to maximize their effectiveness and better serve others. I’ll write more posts on some of the helpful principles and tips Matt shares in his book, but for now, I wanted to share a fascinating excerpt from his interview with Bradley Blakeman, one of the schedulers of President George W. Bush, showing the value of having a routine that creates a basic framework while allowing flexibility. When Matt asked him how he did this job, Blakeman replied:

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“What I tried to do is craft a schedule by which the president didn’t have to rely on a piece of paper – it became innate in his head. I said to myself, ‘How can I make the president comfortable so only pockets of time change every day?’

“So the president got a briefing at the same time every day – FBI at 7:00 am, for example. Then recurring meetings happened at the same time same day, such as the Secretary of State every Thursday at 10:00 a.m. There was also ‘use it or lose it’ time, meaning that if someone didn’t need a recurring meeting that week, they could give it back so it could be used for something else.

“Lunch was every day at the same time, and so was exercise. Thus, the president knew that only a few hours in the day changed, without even having to look at his schedule. The majority of his time he could therefore keep in his head, without relaying on paper. The result is that the president is involved in a routine that he gets used to, and the presidency then becomes more normal. We tried to make an abnormal experience a normal experience.”

Javier

I'm a husband, father, and a Christian, and I work in international affairs. I'm also a bibliophile. I mostly read books on theology, history, politics, and philosophy. This is where I share some of the best things I come across in my reading.